In magnetic tape storage technology, precise tracking performance is typically required to position a tape head in a tape drive relative to a magnetic tape so that the head can read data from or write data to a proper track position on the tape. To assist in positioning of the tape head, a servo pattern that encodes position information may be written onto the magnetic tape during manufacturing of the magnetic tape. The tape head may read the servo pattern, and a controller for the tape head may use a position error signal (PES) generated from the read servo pattern to adjust the position of the tape head to move between tracks and/or follow a given track.
On the other hand, a magnetic tape may experience lateral tape motion (LTM) during writing of the servo pattern, resulting in lateral pattern motion (LPM) in the written servo pattern. Sufficient LPM in the servo pattern may degrade the tracking performance of the tape head and interfere with the reliability and usability of the magnetic tape.
The approaches described in this section are approaches that could be pursued, but not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated, it should not be assumed that any of the approaches described in this section qualify as prior art merely by virtue of their inclusion in this section.